Breakers

Book 1

By: Edward W. Robertson

Narrated by: Ray Chase

Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

In New York, Walt Lawson is about to lose his girlfriend Vanessa. In Los Angeles, Raymond and Mia James are about to lose their house. Within days, none of it will matter. When Vanessa dies of the flu, Walt is devastated. But she isn't the last. The virus quickly kills billions, reducing New York to an open grave and LA to a chaotic wilderness of violence and fires. As Raymond and Mia hole up in an abandoned mansion, where they learn to function without electricity, running water, or neighbors, Walt begins an existential walk to LA, where Vanessa had planned to move when she left him. He expects to die along the way. Months later, a massive vessel appears above Santa Monica Bay. Walt is attacked by a crablike monstrosity in a mountain stream. The virus that ended humanity wasn't created by humans. It was inflicted from outside. The colonists who sent it are ready to finish the job - and Earth's survivors may be too few and too weak to resist.

©2012 Edward W. Robertson (P)2013 Podium Publishing

Interesting Premise but Lacks Some Detail

When I first started to listen to this book I was put off by the narration so I stopped listening and it sat in my library for some time. But I liked the premise and most of the reviews were pretty positive so decided to give it another shot. Just like the first time I listened I was put off by the narrator's voice but forged ahead anyway. I ended up getting used to it, but he is definitely not on the top of my list when it comes to narrators and it impacted my enjoyment of the book for sure. It's just one of those things you need to deal with in the world of audio books.

Anyway, that said, I did enjoy the story. Especially the beginning when the primary characters were introduced. The author did a good job of providing sufficient back story to make the characters interesting and their plight believable. But as the book progressed it just felt glossed over in many areas. I found myself going back a lot to see if I had missed something - which I had not. Normally when I listen to an audio book I can visualize what it taking place like watching a movie. I found that more difficult with this book.

The premise of the book is cool, but the lack of detail just makes it a bit hard to swallow. I get the author needs to make up so much of the story since we do not really know what an alien race would be like, how they would interact with humans, how advanced they would be technology wise and all that, but that is the author's job - to create a framework and then fill in all then details so the story seems plausible. I felt it was lacking in this regard.

Still I did enjoy the book...I just did not love it. Right now I am trying to decide if I want to give the second book a try. Based on some of the reviews it appears it starts like this one but from other people's perspectives. Since that was the interesting part of the story for me, I will probably give it a go and see if maybe some of the blanks are filled in. Of course there is still the issue with the narrator, but I can deal with that.

Death and destruction with some humor on the side

Where does Breakers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 10%

Who was your favorite character and why?

Walt. He kicked butt and didn't care if he would be killed. He always came out on top, after the world fell apart. Ray Chase gave Walt some character.

Have you listened to any of Ray Chase’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but I loved his one liners and humor. His voice comes across great.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed book one, more than I expected. I am looking forward to Book 2.

Similar to "The Stand"

Fans of Stephen King’s “The Stand” will enjoy “Breakers”. I found there to be some similarities in the two, but not so much as to call it a copycat, but there was dome of that dejevu when reading it. The plot is interesting and well thought out. The characters are engaging and dynamic and there is enough action to go around. A highly entertaining read for the post-apocalyptic and horror fans on your list!

Mr Chase does a good job with the narration, but at times I thought Walt and Ray sounded a lot alike.

Good Book!

Took a minute to get going but once it did it was a wild ride. Well performed!

This book holds your attention!

What did you like best about Breakers? What did you like least?

I thought this was going to be your typical survivalist read. I enjoy the genre but they're tough to pull off with something different. This one started out fairly similar with most. Human kind gets wipe outed by a virus except for a few that try to somehow continue on, yada, yada.. Then deep into the first book you're thrown such a curve ball it can make you gasp! At first I thought about stopping because it was so far out of left field I didn't know what to think. I'm glad I didn't. This one is definitely fun and I look forward for the second one in the series!

Really enjoyed this book

What made the experience of listening to Breakers the most enjoyable?

I have been reading and listening to end of the world books for 35 years - this is a very good read - it flows well and was over before I knew it. I wish that the rest of the books in the series were available -- oh well I guess I will read them on the kindle -- normally I would wait for the audios but these are too good

thanks

What did you like best about this story?

the changes in direction with the disaster

What about Ray Chase’s performance did you like?

he was very easy to understand and spoke with a measured rhythm that was nice to listen to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

not laugh or cry - just read more

Any additional comments?

more more

Ray Chase is melting my ears!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

its like being served your favorite food on ship in high seas. normally you'd be excited but the waves are making you sick.

Wait for the Aliens

Is there anything you would change about this book?

All of the characters have essentially the same sense of humor; dry, snarky and sarcastic. It would have been great to have one or two characters like this but to have everyone, even minor little characters spouting snappy contemptuous zingers and retorts was too much. It also, at times, made it difficult to differentiate between the main characters.

There are only a few audiobooks I have given up on and this almost became one. My suggestion, which is not a spoiler if you read the description or listen to the audio sample, is to wait for the aliens. Once the aliens showed up, it triggered a little genre switch in my mind that made me back up and enjoy the story instead of getting annoyed by the characters and writing style. Speaking of the writing style, in this book it felt "framed-out", like a screenplay more than a novel. I imagine that's why the aliens showing up made it more like a movie in my head and, thus, made me more forgiving of the books failings as a novel and more attuned to it's successes as a movie template.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

All in all, I was happy with Ray Chase's narration. His semi-monotone delivery went well with some of the post-apocalyptical settings and with the humor of the characters. However, as I mentioned before, all the characters having the same sense of humor (irony-based and quippy) was a major detractor for me.

Any additional comments?

I guess the most telling sign of how much I enjoyed a book is whether or not I continue with the next book in the series. With Breakers, the aliens might have arrived with enough force to salvaged book 1, but they didn't provoke enough of my curiosity to continue on to book 2.

Disappointed it was aliens. . . .

But then it was really good! First a virus, the the aliens came. At first I thought I was going to not like it, but the characters were so well developed,as well as the story of survivors and fighters. I need to get the next book now. Loved it.

Left me wanting more.....

I not a fan of most science fiction - especially off planet, however this book was firmly grounded on Earth, albeit with a sprinkling of aliens and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The book starts with the hum-drum existence of two couples, one based in New York and the other in southern California. From there there the plot slowly develops into a dystopian nightmare. The character development is excellent and the story is told from each males point of view, each chapter switching from one to the other until in the books last half they finally unite. The book is more about the indomitable human spirit and the desire to survive and the plot is arranged to support this premise. For lovers of suspense and who appreciate a book that has a few layers and a book which is reasonably well written, I recommend this to you.